Public accommodation laws aim to help protect minority groups against discrimination. In the case of transgender people, such laws protect access to sex-segregated spaces including public restrooms, changing rooms and locker rooms. In a health care setting, rooming assignments and other sex-segregated environments are affected by accommodation laws, which can raise questions for staff. …Read More

From “I am Jazz” and the National Geographic’s “Gender Revolution” cover story to Sesame Street’s recent pride message on Twitter, the issue of transgender and gender non-conformity is undoubtedly in the spotlight. Although it is estimated that only 0.4 percent of the population identifies as transgender, this is an issue that every pediatrician should be prepared to encounter in the office. …Read More

For trans masculine people — an umbrella term referring to people assigned a female sex at birth who identify as female-to-male, transman, man, men, masculine of center, boi, genderqueer or another diverse non-binary gender identity and expression — seeking health care can be a challenging and potentially traumatizing experience. We are hearing about all of it.

We hear over and over again about the myriad of ways transgender patients can be hurt by, rejected or feel mistreated in health care settings and contexts, including by their medical doctors and other clinical care providers. We are finding that lack of cultural competence (trans-incompetence) in health care contexts and by providers themselves comes in many forms. One central theme emerging in our research is regarding nonbinary trans masculine people (who may not identify with the male/female or man/woman gender dichotomy) and binary trans masculine people (who may identify as men or males). …Read More